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Cases of infection caused by the bluetongue virus are surging in several European countries, with farmers worried about the impact on sheep and cattle, according to data collected by AFP on Tuesday.
Bluetongue is a non-contagious insect-borne viral disease that affects ruminants such as sheep and cattle, but not pigs or horses, and is difficult to control once infected.
The first outbreak of BTV-3 was identified in the Netherlands in September 2023 and has since spread to Belgium, Germany and the UK.
But cases of the midge-borne disease have exploded among European livestock in recent weeks.
The Netherlands recorded 2,909 local cases of infection on Monday, according to the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, an increase of 650 from the previous week, Dutch media reported.
Meanwhile, Germany had confirmed 1,885 cluster cases as of Aug. 8, according to the Friedrich-Löffler Institute (FLI), the country's main animal disease research center. For the whole of 2023, the country had seen just 23 outbreaks.
France's animal disease surveillance platform ESA said in a report published on Tuesday that 515 cases were confirmed in Belgium between June 1 and Aug. 11, 436 of them in just one week.
The virus is not dangerous to humans, but in animals it can cause high fever, mouth sores and swelling of the head.
The first cases were detected in August in France, Luxembourg and Denmark, the World Organisation for Animal Health said in a report on Monday.
BTV-3 is particularly deadly to sheep, but can also significantly reduce milk production in cows, FLI said, though unlike bird flu, infected animals do not need to be culled.
Symptoms include excessive salivation, swelling of the lips, tongue and jaws and loss of offspring in pregnant animals, with rates varying from farm to farm.
Other strains of the virus, such as types 4 and 8, have been present in Europe for years and, although vaccines have been discovered, there are not enough of them in stock to deal with an outbreak.
Stephane Zientala, from France's food, environment and occupational health safety agency, told AFP that France began its vaccination campaign this week in order to “contain the spread of infection as quickly as possible.”
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